A 58-year-old woman told police Monday that she gave birth to six babies whose skeletons were discovered in an apartment in Toda, Saitama Prefecture, the day before, according to investigative sources.
The woman also told investigators that she had delivered the last of the six babies more than 10 years ago, the sources said.
Investigators extracted the confession during interrogation of the woman and her daughter, both former occupants of the apartment in which the skeletons were discovered, the sources said. The remains were found in a closet by cleaners.
Police had initially questioned the 33-year-old daughter, who had lived in the apartment with her then husband, a truck driver, from 1990 until about a year ago, the sources said. The couple had children in elementary and junior high school.